Undestined
by Blame-It-On-Magellan
Summary: Nothing was worth true nakama that would care for her as long as they lived. That being said, she couldn't help but feel she should've been somewhere else right then, instead of walking to her soon to be sadistic captain in the middle of the Alabasta desert, the incorrect starting point of the supposed beautiful, rubber filled journey that made her believe in her dreams again.
1. Prologue: Undestined

`Hey guys. So, yes, it's out! It's finally out. My very own LawRo! It was originally AU, but I realized after a few weeks, how boring AUs can come to be, compared to the OP world. There's so many things that could possibly happen off screen, it's overwhelmingly amazing. It's technically AU, as in AU of the OP Universe, but…you know what I mean, right? XD

So after I successfully wrote over seven chapters over 50K, I decided I didn't feel for the story anymore, and started this one. So, I apologize for the lateness of it, but due to my sudden change of plot, AND well, story, it is what it is.

Reviews make me happy, none make me…sappy? None is very…crappy? It sounds pretty mean, eh? I'll work on it later. Just review! :D

* * *

**~ Prologue ~**

It was more than clear to her that he no longer considered her an ally, a vice president, a _tool_.

That being said, she wasn't sure if she was either glad, or upset that her actions had slipped into one of the thousands of Thousands' ears, coming back out from his snitching mouth.

Glad he was no longer someone she had to be concerned about, but knowing what would happen in the long run, she regretted not taking the opportunity seriously.

She dragged herself as she lightly clutched her wound, the desire of some sort of moisture other than saliva was more than she could handle. Luckily, the busy city of Nanohana was only about a mile away.

It was around sunset already, but was still blazing hot. The cool temperature of the air was to come soon, and if she hadn't reached the city by then, it wouldn't give her another chance before rapidly dropping to a freezing temperature.

She didn't even decide to put much effort on keeping her eyelids as open as they should be – she was too hurt, too tired to worry about such things. The wound, which was slowly drying up, already succeeded in bloodying her right hand, only a fraction of her left being covered by the thick, crimson, liquid.

No longer being able to go to RainDinners as the manager, Nanohana was her only option. She was the least bit thankful that he cut her off of her position while they were in Katorea, which was only a small east travel from the city she was currently heading to.

She wasn't sure if she would try to go back to Alubarna after her wound had healed enough – she was sure that Crocodile would be on his way to Impel Down by then, so it would be no problem to. The question was, was the King going to allow her to do so, after aiding in the attempt to overthrow the whole Alabasta Kingdom?

The answer was almost, and practically was, a definite no. It didn't matter how much she planned on the Shichubukai to fail, what mattered was that she never showed any of it, so it could be easily seen as an excuse that was conjured out of desperation.

The rookie was an option, a higher chance of succeeding, though it still wasn't much at all. She hadn't originally planned on Crocodile falling short, but after meeting the young boy, her doubts instantly kicked in. One wouldn't believe such a naïve, innocent looking boy would have a thirty million bounty over his head, not to mention even giving him a second glance compared to a Shichubukai, but he bared the Will of D, something she had had an interest in ever since she was a child. She noticed many common traits of those who were born into the world as one. Incredible instinct. Smiles somewhat common, one way or another. And somehow, they always seemed to know what to say.

The initial was still a mystery to the world, no one known knowing what it meant. She herself pondered over what it meant, meeting a few along her path, the said instincts in almost all of them. Still, most people would argue that the simple middle initial meant nothing – he was still a rookie, while _he_ was an experienced pirate.

However, she couldn't shake the odd scratching at the back of her head, begging to be thought about, so she soothed her thoughts by simply saying, she didn't doubt if he won, but she wasn't sure about either. At that moment, she was on the borderline, the middle of the road, where surely, you would get caught in the head lights.

So she had a decision to make: either Mr. 0, or the boy with the straw hat. The bet she put on him had technically brought her to side of _true_ justice, not a bias opinion from marines, but actual justice, since it was Crocodile who had planned to take over the innocent kingdom. But that justice had dragged her down into the depth of sand of the Alabasta desert, like all of the other times she had tried to fit in with the small shred of good, or at least innocence, in the world.

Even though she was almost certain they could beat Mr. 3 at Little Garden, she gave them the Eternal Pose so they could arrive sooner to Alabasta – not for a trap that Mr. 0 set up, so they could hurry and save the kingdom. Only at the climatic point of the havoc could she sneak a chance to read the Poneglyph. While Crocodile was occupied, and on the verge of losing, but the pirates and the royal family were also busy fighting back. Only _then_ could she have read it.

But she had screwed up, taking a damned Den Den Mushi when it was unnecessary for her trip to the small goat-headed ship.

She had placed it in it's spot between her breasts, but she shamefully had had the accident of it being_ on line,_ apparently. Whoever was on the other end, which she successfully assassinated earlier that day, had heard everything, and tattle tailed like a snobbish child to their father. The mishap seemed too fated, too unfortunately _perfect_ for it to be real, but it happened that way, no matter how much she wished it hadn't.

She knew he never trusted her from the start, but she suspected something snapped, most likely his cigar, that morning, because he had harshly scarred her across her torso at her arrival back to Katorea, leaving a somewhat deep wound in the path the golden hook traced.

She could no longer walk around the summer island, free of any danger, with the position of Ms. All Sunday above her head. Now, any Thousand or Million could toy with her if they wanted. If she was drunk, that is.

She supposed he decided there was no way she was going to tell him the truthful translation of the historical piece, so he got rid of her before she could get in the way. It was a smart move, really. If he hadn't, she would've been secretly aiding to the young boy's crew faster than the flames that took over her own hometown. She just hoped it hadn't cost anything to them that she had screwed up her character in the whole scheme.

Finally reaching the city, she stirred up some attention, as the residents still recognized her as the manager of the popular casino, who had come bleeding from within the depths of the hot, ever going desert.

Not wanting to ask anyone for directions in her current position, she strolled around town, trying to stand straight so she wouldn't stand out much. With the help of her thieving skills, she managed to simply swipe a somewhat robe looking, purple piece of clothing, which was a common attire in the country. After adjusting it to a position that didn't let the robe directly touch her wound, blood stood away from it, making her look back to her higher-classed, respected self.

Walking around the larger sized town, she finally found a hospital, the Nanohana Hospital Medical Center. Upon entering, she walked up to the woman sitting at the front desk, and putting on a half hearted smirk, opened up the robe, revealing her long, narrow gash. With a quick gasp, she dialed up the Den Den Mushi, calling for a doctor.

The next few weeks were unmemorable.

Healing was one of the many things she had never known to like. Healing was moving forward, breaking free of what hurt you.

She had never healed from the scar in her heart, her mind.

Even though emotional healing irritated her, she didn't doubt that physical healing wasn't much better. Sitting, laying down, drinking water, eating small portions of food at a time, pills, and sleeping all day for weeks wasn't what she wanted to do, not when she could've been hundreds of miles away from the island on another gullible pirate crew's ship, a step closer to the Sabaody Archipelago – closer to the New World, closer to Raftel, the True History.

About a week after she was hospitalized, it was official – Mr. Monkey D. had saved King Cobra and the lovely Princess Vivi, exposing the supposed hero Crocodile of his schemes, the first blissful rain in years ending the war between the two groups of residents. The World Government and Marines told the rest of the world it was some no name marine – Smoker, who had defeated him, but anyone in the right mind to have heard the Princess' touching speech and goodbye to the rookies…it was easily known across the country who the true heroes were.

As soon as the news spread to the city she was bedridden at, she quickly prepared in leaving to catch up with the boy. He interested her, nevermind the D. Not all of them had this, but he _did_ have this certain spark in his eyes she couldn't seem to shake. It gave her shivers, a shrill of excitement of wanting to know more of him. It reminded her of Saul.

Her wound ached, but wasn't all that bad. Despite this, they simply _refused_ to let her go. Where all doctors this dedicated? She tried all ways of manipulation, _some_ way to persuade them. It was her own health she was risking, wasn't it?

However, they didn't even glance at a single offer. They said it was not only her health she was risking, it was their satisfaction and pride as doctors. Respectable, she had to admit, but it aggravated her nonetheless.

She grudgingly accepted to stay at the hospital, but swore that if not going on the boy's ship was a choice that came back to haunt her, she would come back to this spot and personally slaughter them.

Another two weeks passed, and they had finally, finally accepted for her leave.

After officially being granted the ability to move freely again, the charges were shrugged off, as the doctor claimed she had helped him win a jackpot once at RainDinners. She didn't want to say no to free treatment, though she did think it was odd for a doctor to unprofessionally wave something as a fee off, so she left with a smile and a nod, followed by a polite thank you.

Buying new clothes with the leftover Beli she had, she walked among the other people, eyeing certain ones that caught her eye – someone who would take her in willingly.

After a good half hour, she stopped at a small diner, her head somewhat hurting after mild dehydration. She couldn't find anyone decent. Pirates who were too trashy, or too weak to protect her for at least a while, swarmed the city. She should've gone with Mr. Monkey D., but she was confident she would catch up to him soon – there was no doubt he was also aiming for Raftel, and the infamous One Piece, so she would just have to meet him amongst the way.

Usually, she wouldn't be so picky, but as she got older, she became less and less desperate to find someone. She was 28, now, and the Tragedy of Ohara had happened twenty years ago, something most people didn't even know about anymore. She was more than capable of taking care of herself – if it wasn't for her, her mother's, and Ohara's, dream, she could stop her journey right then, and settle down right there.

The only flaw being there _was_ a goal she was after, and she couldn't stand the intense heat of the harsher summer island much longer, so she moved forward, not healed, but simply move forward.

Her attention was brought up by an older man, who she would guess was around fifty, the top of his head hairless, a matching grey beard, but only a few wrinkles.

He spoke in a hoarse, shook, voice that made her frown, "You..!" He pointed a slightly bent finger at her face, a bit too close to her nose, "You're the Devil's Child..!"

She frowned at his accuracy of her role in piracy, scolding herself for not realizing the man's older age – which also meant he was still a bit older when her bounty and the news shook the West Blue and bits and pieces of the Grand Line.

"The Devil's Child!" he yelled louder, causing some of the customers to stare at the scene.

"Oi, ossan, what are you yelling about, now?" One of the younger customers, who she assumed was a regular one, asked, "Don't be ridiculous. That's the manager of RainDinners."

"Have you youngsters no brains?! RainDinners, owned by our supposed hero, Crocodile!? She…!" he pointed his finger at her again, "She's the one that escaped the World Government.!"

"You're acting as if the manager of a casino had anything to do with the evildoing of a _pirate_. "he laughed with his other friends, still not believing it.

She slightly depended on the lax nature of the man to somehow make the predicament she was currently in…_go away. _She only hoped that the old man had no evidence to back up his accusation, but of course, like the rest of her life, misfortune was accompanied to it somehow.

This being said, she wasted no time in getting up and briskly leaving the small restaurant, after the old man shrieked, "Wait! I've got her bounty poster right here!"

She heard more shrieks after she left, most out of panic and fear. This city, and soon this country wouldn't be safe for her anymore – she had been recognized.

* * *

"I've heard of her, before, Captain." His first mate and navigator commented in a deep, somewhat slow voice.

"I know, Bepo." the Captain of that certain crew said to him in a serene voice, nodding, "The woman who supposedly has the power to destroy the world." He murmured under his breath, the said woman walking out of the diner.

"She doesn't seem like she's all that scary or strong." His other crewmember, by the name of Penguin, commented.

"But she looks pretty." Another commented.

"Who cares?" the polar bear asked bluntly.

"Shut up, Bepo." The man by the name of Shachi frowned.

"I'm sorry…" he apologized, his head swept down. The man, feeling somewhat guilty, patted the bear's back, which eventually brought his spirits up again.

The captain of the four turned to them, another one of his distinctive, smug smiles on his lips, "Would you men like another crewmate?"

"Can I keep her?" Shachi immediately asked.

"Don't be stupid! _I'm_ keeping her." Penguin smiled.

"That doesn't make any sense." Bepo commented.

"_Shut up_, Bepo!"

"I'm sorry."

After the bear recovered, the three were faced with the intimidating golden eyes of their Captain. "If you want her. _Get her_." He stipulated, frowning at his three best companions.

Faster than the Captain had thought they would be, the three dashed out the door, only a quick _'Yes, Captain!'_ scarcely reaching his ears as his hat was slightly misplaced from the wind that gathered.

Fixing it, he crossed one leg over the other, waiting for the small fraction of his crew to return.

Alabasta wasn't the crew's next destination – it wasn't the crew's _supposed to be_ destination. However, another foolish bickering stirred up between the three that were currently chasing after the girl, causing the first mate to fall and break the log pose he so vowed to himself to keep in perfect condition.

The contour of islands from where he started the Grand Line to Sabaody was in somewhat of a jagged one, the island they recently departed from sticking out of it to the east, Alabasta being only a day's ride away.

With that being said, the Heart Pirates were thrown slightly off track, and would have to obtain a new log pose, go back to the winter island, Jäger Insel, and wait for the log pose to set once more so it would be back onto it's set magnetic order of islands.

He gave them each a strike on their heads with his nodachi, but now, he was somewhat glad they were at the burning hot sensation of the Alabasta Kingdom – the so called Devil's Child would make a _lovely_ addition, and he was almost one hundred percent sure her skill of the Ancient Language was an important key to understanding the unknown world they lived in, and possibly even the rumored treasure of the Pirate King.

And he was almost certain she would agree. Despite him being only around the age of four when the so called Tragedy of Ohara happened, he wasn't an idiot. Already starting to read medical books, he was sure his own interest of doctoring was almost as strong, maybe even a bit more, than her's of history.

He had snooped around, and found a few old newspapers from his father – reading out of curiosity, he had summarized and somewhat stored her way of survival into the back of his mind.

Join a pirate or gang, wait for marines to come. Abandon them, steal what they could offer. The four stepped plan was simple, yet it was one that stood no vulnerability to marines, or no threat to most pirates – for they were as reckless as animals themselves.

He knew very well that she would tag along with them, seeing as he made a bit of a success so far as a pirate, considering he has only been a captain for about two months.

However, he was into the lifestyle of piracy before that, his powers and abilities somewhat stronger than most rookie pirates. He wasn't sure if he would be able to handle the 20 years of experience she had, but she was still only a margin into the Grand Line – unless she had traveled the whole thing, and had just came back, he couldn't see much advancement from her.

He knew this woman had a devil fruit, yet he knew nothing of it. Interrogating would be held once they left for the colder island.

"Captain." His first mate and navigator shyly peeked over the doorway at him, making him smile a bit.

"What is it, Bepo?"

"She's waiting near the edge of town. Shachi and Penguin are with her."

"The edge of town? That's a mile away, Bepo. How could you've reached it so fast?" He frowned, moving his hat so it was closer to his eyes.

"It's been about twenty minutes, Captain." The bear asked, a bit confused.

He breathed out a puff of air, before pushing himself off the chair he was sitting on with his arms, pulling his nodachi over his shoulder right after. "Lead the way." He nodded to him, which the first mate obliged to.

"Your stares are uncomfortable." She commented at the two men staring at her, as she sat on a barrel outside an old shop.

They didn't take her words into accountancy, so she restricted from throwing them a frown, and instead placed a smile, as the odd talking polar bear came into view once more.

"Captain." The two nodded respectfully, standing straight as a man a few inches taller than her, with a sword of about the same height, approached them.

The man stopped, two feet away from herself. A smile that she couldn't help but feel the least bit uncomfortable was on his face, slowly making her own drain away.

With a held out hand, he said in a clear voice, "Trafalgar Law."

Still sitting on the barrel, she stared at the tattooed hand, reading, 'DEATH,' before finally shaking it on his fingers, "Nico Robin."

"Well, Miss Nico Robin. I'd like you to join my crew, and I know you're already going to accept. We'll be buying a few supplies in this city, and we'll be setting sail tonight." He walked away after that, assuming she would follow him.

She couldn't help but smile at the retreating figure. This man was going to be fun to toy around with.

Waiting longer than she should have, she finally let herself down off the barrel, her heels creating two _clicks! _one after the other. She ignored the two men who were cheering to themselves – she had experienced men like this, before, and on more than one occasion.

She was a bit surprised, actually. Men in white boiler suits never had really struck her fancy in her personal dictionary, so she assumed the captain would be someone poor, maybe a bit barbaric.

However, he seemed like none of those things, even after the only brief conversation. Too brief, as a matter of fact. It annoyed her, actually. This 'Trafalgar Law' seemed to smug, too confident for her taste, and with those characteristics, he seemed to still have the nerve of being too kept to himself. Robin, at least, opened up a little bit, making small talk and telling people more about herself, other than simply her _name_. This man, in conclusion, seemed stuck up.

She didn't mean to sound like a whining, judgmental teenager or anything, but he acted as if the world was in his hands, and she was proven right when he simply walked away after giving her orders.

He seemed interesting, a different sort of interesting. Whether it was annoying or amusing, she had yet to find out.

She struck up a conversation with the polar bear, "Hello." She said this politely, happily, not inexplicably like she would with most people.

"Hello." The bear nodded back at her.

After thinking of the right words she proceeded in asking, "Bepo, was it?" He nodded. "May I ask a somewhat personal question?"

She heard the two men cry in disbelief due to their foul minds, but nonetheless asked when the bear nodded in acceptance. "Well, may I ask how is it possible for you to talk? Did you eat a devil fruit, perhaps?"

He shook his head. "I don't really know." He scratched the back of his head, looking at the sky, "Maybe I did...Maybe I just learned…"

"Animals have different vocal chords, though." She reasoned.

"I'm…an _animal_?" he hung his head.

"_You __**are**__an animal!_" the two screeched, but she just gently apologized, disparity in her voice, "I apologize. I didn't mean to insult you."

"It's okay…" he blinked, "That's the first time I've ever said that."

The two men next to her sweatdropped. She walked past them to a clothing store, much to the Captain's curiosity, "We're buying food and medical supplies – not clothes." He informed her, giving her a sideways glance.

She didn't bother to look at him, "I never agreed of joining you." She picked up a purple, lace embroidered tank top.

She could feel his frown, which was followed by a brisk sigh, "So, what deed to you want me to waste my time on in order for you to join?"

"_Fufufu~ _There isn't anything you can do. You'll just have to wait." She said, picking up a black, high waisted leather skirt.

"We leave tonight." He said, glaring at the woman's back as he ground his teeth together in annoyance. "You have until then to decide."

She smiled to herself despite answering in a somewhat cold voice, "Don't act as if this is an opportunity." She left deeper into the store.

"…She's still joining us, right, Captain?" Penguin asked, fixing the bill of his hat.

"Of course. She's simply messing with us." He confirmed, an exasperated frown on his face.

"You going to get her back for it, Captain?" Shachi sighed, already knowing the answer.

"That's not even a question, Shachi."

The three blinked at their captain's retreating figure before they let out simultaneous sighs. Their captain was plotting something – but lost in the depths of annoyance and feelings of being disrespected, he had yet to remember the woman was far more experienced than him in the life or death business.

So, they quickly rushed after him, in a futile attempt to talk him out of his light revenge on the woman. "Are you _sure_ about this, Captain?" Penguin asked after catching up with him.

"Of course." He said under his breath, a frown still plastered on his face. "Are you suggesting that I _shouldn't_ do this, Penguin?"

"Well…we're only looking out for you, Captain." He answered a bit sheepishly.

"I would appreciate it, but I take that as an insult." He peered his eyes at him, "Are you calling me weak?"

Shachi raised an eyebrow on him, "That doesn't work on us, Law. And we weren't even close to saying that. Supposedly, she was the temporary first mate for the ex-Shichubukai Crocodile! I wouldn't doubt it, as he was arrested _right here_ and taken to Impel Down a few weeks ago." He informed her, "Unless you think you have a chance against that man, I wouldn't exactly recommend…this."

His jaw clenched in slight annoyance as he used his name, something he narrowly looked over since it was coming from those three, his best friends, but he still snapped his head in his direction, retorting, "_Doflamingo_ would manage to kill him in _seconds_ if he wanted to, I'm sure you're aware of this, Shachi. So, as one of his former men, I am not _helpless._ Adding on to that, I'm sure he only gave her such a high position of authority in exchange for her…skills."

"We know, Captain." Bepo added, "But, I heard someone who used to work for them, that she supposedly was planning on betraying him for that other rookie, Mugiwara!" he exclaimed, throwing his furry arms in the air for emphasis, "She stuck with him for a reason, Captain. If she bet her twenty years of risking her life on _him_ rather than Crocodile…" the bear trailed off, as he felt somewhat ashamed for saying so much.

"She must have an incredible eye for things. And, in the end, Mugiwara _did_ defeat him. If she thinks she's capable of _betraying_ Crocodile, _the _Crocodile, who would kill someone on the spot, I think she's more than what she seems to be." Penguin concluded.

He sighed, and pinched the bridge of his nose, and stopped walking, "I'm aware of this, Penguin." He barely managed to spit the words out as he grit his teeth, "But she won't do that."

The three blinked, not believing the captain at all before blurting out almost _too_ bluntly, "Why not?"

He could've sworn he almost ripped his skin off as he pinched harder in annoyance.

* * *

She brushed through the isles of clothing, picking out which ones caught her striking azure eyes, a majority of them being either black or purple.

The man, Trafalgar Law, had something to his personality to actually put her on the edge. She had met many pirates, many marines, many innocents, but hardly any of them were clever enough to have her even the least bit flustered of what to do.

He didn't seem like he would hurt her, or use her in any way, but what she was concerned about, what was burning in the back of her mind was if she _were_ to join him, would she be able to escape? Despite him looking decent and far away from some pirates who acted very barbarian-like, just the few words exchanged between the two had her growing tired of talking to him, and to put it lightly, annoyed her. In short, he was uncomfortably devious, adding on to the whole way-too-brief-problem.

That was how _she_ was supposed to act. It truly worried her that he would be able to read whatever she thought, making it seem as if he had known her for years. He would probably know when she was going to run. _How _she was going to run. _Where_ she was going to run.

If she was going to join, it would be almost impossible to escape, unless he were to fail in succeeding what every pirate dreamed of finding.

Escaping was what kept her alive. Deviousness. Secrets. Twists. And finally, lies. She knew these four things better than her own mother, but what shook her usually stable feet, was that he seemed to know even more.

However, recklessness was also an option. It was what could get her out, but the pirate captain seemed to also know how to deal with this attribute, from the signs of unexpected respect from the three members of his crew.

After talking to the cashier about giving her a discount, she subtly threw in that she happened to be the manager of RainDinners. As her job of Ms. All Sunday was more important, yet unknown, the fact that the manager of a casino being fired wasn't big of a deal – it would probably take a few more weeks for the news to finally set in to Nanohana.

She hated using the excuse so much, it seemed overdone, and quite frankly, boring, but it was the only one that she had. That being said, an incredible discount was given to her, much to her pleasure. She successfully convinced several different stores of her 'current' status, snatching a few more expensive ones occasionally.

As the sky illustrated an ombré effect of different warm shades of orange, yellow, and red, to somewhat cooler shades of purple and blue, the archeologist found her self aimlessly wandering around the town, the atmosphere quickly cooling down, to many of the residents' delight.

Putting on the long, thick jacket she bought, much similar to the white one she had as Ms. All Sunday, she somewhat reluctantly, decided to find her new captain, her smug, annoying, captain.

Letting out a sharp sigh, she gripped the bags' replaceable string handles as she slowly increased her pace, somewhat hoping to find him, somewhat hoping to look over him and never see him for the rest of time.

The more she thought of it, the more she frowned, thinking that this may not be exciting anymore, but more of risking her own life. She tried to remember if she usually felt the sense of danger when hopping from crew to crew. Danger as in excitement, almost all the time. But danger as in literal danger, she couldn't say the same. She hardly ever felt out of place, even with the former Shichubukai, she felt as though she belonged in Baroque Works, being in an assassination group and such.

If only her mother was still alive. If only Ohara was still alive. But, she supposed that the tragedy had small advantages. She probably would've set off to look for the ancient artifacts when she turned around eighteen. She didn't think she could possibly survive the sea with that big of a power in her head, and only starting with the voyage, at that. What she meant was, she was probably much stronger, both physically and mentally, due to her twenty years of experience. She was earlier than the supposed schedule of her adventure, having a harsh ten years head start. It also gave her a drive, knowing Ohara's dream was in her hands.

It wasn't worth it, however.

Nothing was worth true nakama that would care for her for as long as they lived, not even her own death and failure of her dream was worth it. That being said, she couldn't help but feel she should've been somewhere else, right then, instead of walking to her soon to be sadistic captain, in the middle of the Alabasta desert, the incorrect destined starting point of the beautiful journey that was supposed to make her believe in her dreams again.


	2. Chapter One: Errands

Hey guys. Here's another update! Thanks for your attention! (O.o) I'm really pumped for this story, I've been in a DEEP LawRo mood for a while now, but then again, I'm always in the mood for a lot of things. I know it's been a while, but I've been concentrating on my other FF. Sorry if this chapter doesn't suit your fancy. I was iffy on a few parts, and I may have gone too dramatic and may have gotten too teenage, OC Robin with it..I hope it's the good kind, if anything. :3

Also, I would like to thank the people who reviewed:

**FrozenLemonade**: Stray cat. XP It seems so funny to me, thinking of Robin as a little kitty.

**10****th**** Squad 3****rd**** Seat**: …Well here's a chapter, if you want it. :3 (We're having a sale.)

**Rumu**: Thank you so incredibly much for this. I feel so happy and motivated now. :') And this chapter's longer by 2k, I think. ;)

**Guest...Number One**: Thanks for your review, I'm so~ excited!

**Guest Number Two**: Sorry for being quite late, still trying to juggle stuff right now. But I won't quit on this, so hooray!

**Cloud Piece**: So we meet again. Again. I've read and reread _Morbidity_ at least five times. :3 It was what made me start shipping LawRo, actually. ^.^ Thanks for following MEM, too! :))) And BTW…LawRo's simply much too fabulous. It hurts! XP You should post that idea of yours…I want to read it. Now.

**LawxRobinFan (Guest)**: I really appreciate it! And yeah, I'm trying to make this a really long, ongoing series. ^.^

**Guest Number Three**: TY so~ much! Was the prologue really that good? :3 Sorry for not doing this sooner, and I plan on making all chapters this long. I just need to work on time management…

**SilverRain0**: Aw, thanks. Here's another chapter, less than a day later! And preach it! People _need_, and when I say need, I mean _need, _to put on more LawRo. _Need. _

Thanks you guys! I'm glad you like this story! Motivate me with some more if this appeals to you! ^.^

* * *

"Robin." The polar bear greeted to the woman by her first name, nodding as she climbed down the ladder to the inside of the yellow submarine, also known as the Heart Pirates' ship.

She said nothing to this, and just continued climbing down until she decided it was fine for her to simply jump off. Her dark purple high heels clicked on the metallic floor, before she moved to leave space for the other person currently climbing down.

She smiled to herself, now understanding just how hard the captain was making her escape plans possible.

The sub was far larger than any others she had ever read about either in newspapers or books, and was in fact a bit larger than most ships. Walking ahead by herself, she inspected a few rooms here and there. Hallways were wide, rooms were quite big. The men's rooms was divided between only five members maximum, so she paid no attention to the fact that there was at least five of them.

Infirmary here, kitchen there. She found there were three levels of the sub, the first, and very bottom, being for running the sub, so she crossed it off as somewhere she wouldn't need to visit very frequently. The middle and second level consisted of the infirmary, library, a lounging room, a navigation room, a laundry room, several storage rooms, and a few of the five bedrooms. Finally, the top and third level held most of the bedrooms, about half of them still empty, the Captain's quarters, the kitchen, and the dining area.

As her shoes' clacks echoed through the empty iron hallways, she found the usual salty smell of the ocean absent, which made her wonder if she would ever get to a point of forgetting they were underwater.

The hallways were scented with the only vague fragrance of salt, the infirmary had a strong smell of alcohol and medicine. The laundry room smelled of soap, the lounging room was like a perfume she had smelled a while back. The navigation room had a citrus like scent that gave her shivers. The kitchen and dining area had dense air that smelled like a soup she couldn't put her finger on. She hadn't even shared a glance at the men's cabins.

It wasn't very long after she had memorized a good portion of the sub when she had ran into the man with the hat that blatantly stated his name. She had known this of course, as the silence and echoes weren't good at keeping secrets.

"Ms. Nico –" he had started, before she had interrupted.

"Robin."

"Robin," he nodded, acknowledging her request, "Captain's looking for you. He's up on the deck."

"I'll be there." She nodded.

"What? Well, he was sorta hoping for me to bring you there. Around now." He smiled sheepishly at the lack of a good way to explain, "Captain's orders." He reminded, adjusting his cap.

She sighed, "Yes, yes, Captain's orders." She gave a small nod once again, before following Penguin down the halls and up a ladder or two.

"Robin." The bear greeted to her the same way as she climbed back up the same ladder.

"Bear-san." She softly said at him, as she was now in front of many others, who she assumed were the other members of the Heart Pirates. Sunglasses, who she remembered was with Hat, nodded to her as well as the rest of the others chatted amongst themselves, not aware of her presence.

"Ms. Nico." The captain's voice caught her attention as he walked onto the deck of the sub.

"Where were you, Cap'n?" Shachi asked.

"On the lookout, for two certain men who failed to come back here for the past 2 hours." He almost snapped.

"Morons." She heard Penguin mutter.

"Why? Send them out for supplies?" she asked curiously with a smile on her lips.

"Ah~…" the chattering of the crew faded as they didn't recognize the voice speaking to their captain. The _feminine_ voice speaking to their captain.

She only kept her polite smile on as they crammed her with their own mirages of actual happiness, their foul minds getting in the way of the manners. What was her name, they had asked, and she could only reply with the two words cursed upon her that made shook many people down to the core, "Nico Robin."

"Ah~…" their voices faded away again, yet not in the interest and perverted thoughts, but with stun and fear.

"You can have her – I wanna live." She almost laughed at this comment.

"What? No way. Take her, Drew."

"Screw tha-"

"I'll take her." Cut in another voice.

"Pervert."

"Shut up, bas-"

"_Men._"

Her blue eyes glazed over to the where the captain was speaking, and she didn't question why they instantly stopped talking. She did take note they seemed to take affect only on how he looked at them, with a glare that darkened his golden eyes.

Law rolled his fingers on the handle of his nodachi before continuing, "I expect _respect_ for our newest crew member, and I don't want any _jokes_ like last time." The aura had an eerie tone around it.

"Hands to yourself," he continued, his eyes slightly loosening up, "Do I make myself clear?"

"Aye, Captain!" one agreed, which led to the chain of choruses and promises.

With a curt nod to his crewmates, he walked past her and to the ladder, climbing down. "_Fufu~_" she softly giggled, following him down.

She landed on the floor, her heels echoing again as she caught up with him.

"They seem to have great respect for you." She commented, as they walked down the hallways.

"Of course. I _am_ the captain of this ship." He said a bit irritably, annoyed with the woman's simplicity.

"I'm aware of that." She answered in her own tone of annoyance as she frowned, "But I'd like to know what could you have possibly done to make them accept you as captain."

"How is this of any interest to you, Ms. Nico?" he only smirked at her, interested in what she would respond with.

"I'd like to know if I made the right choice, joining this crew."

He had stopped walking then, and she had stopped a few feet behind him. "Nico Robin." He said her name through the empty halls, the last syllable echoing and bouncing off of walls, "I know for a fact, that this is the biggest risk for me right now, to even allow you to join my crew." He started, and she smiled when she heard the venom in his voice, "However, I did so, anyways…The only way for you to be able to sabotage us, is if you were to escape. But you can't do that if you're trapped underwater in a submarine, can you?" he had turned his body a bit to face her, now.

"So you'll have no choice but to help defend us, because, if we go down, you're very well coming with us."

She peered at the smirking man in front of her as he said the words that struck her only spot of vulnerability, "And your sweet Ohara wouldn't be very happy with that, would they?"

When she said nothing, he took it as his personal victory, and continued down the sub, Robin closely following behind him. The only sound between the two was the shallow footsteps they made, and the occasional sound of Law's nodachi scraping the floor every once in a while.

Ohara. He couldn't resist bringing it up, she thought. He had no idea what she had been through, all those years of being alone, of suffering, and knowing no one was going to come and save you. Not only did the island, but she, herself, took many hits in order to keep their dream alive.

Joining this crew was a hit, and so was the wound, and so was joining Crocodile at all, and killing all the people she had, just in order to accomplish a _dream_. Imagine how many souls would still be roaming the world, now, if it weren't for her, she thought to herself bitterly.

He had no idea what it was like, to force yourself to thrive in the world they lived in, to know this has not only an affect on yourself, but other people, too.

They had reached her room, which she remembered it as being on the middle level, three doors down the first right you made.

Silence came again, and now, even the rhythm of their shoes were gone.

"How old are you?" she asked a bit quietly as they stood in front of the room that would be soon called her own.

He gave her a sideways glance, an emotionless look on his face before he answered, "Twenty-four."

He walked away after that, and left her with her thoughts. She lifted her hand to turn the brass doorknob, and walked into the room. A bit dusty, but she could take care of that. It was smaller than the men's bunks, but it _was_ only for her, after all, so it was reasonable. A bed, a closet, a desk, and a few lamps on the smaller bedside tables. She would have to start buying new clothes, soon.

The thought made her wonder.

She slowly sat on the bed, and was surprised to see it wasn't as hard or uncomfortable as it looked. All the crewmembers, as she recalled, wore the same, white, suit, save for Bepo, who wore an orange one, and the Captain. Would she have to wear one, then?

If she had to, she wouldn't argue, but she wouldn't want to wear it in the first place. A question she had to ask him later, she decided.

The first question she had asked before she entered the room, though, made her feel the slightest bit uncomfortable. She wasn't used to many people knowing about the Ohara incident these days, or at least having the audacity to bring it up in front of her.

Twenty four, twenty four. The Buster Call had been placed at her hometown exactly twenty years ago, so he had been around four when it happened. The whole buzz about it had calmed down after two years, so how young was he when he took note of it? Perhaps he had asked around only today after hearing she was in town?

Calm, cold, shady, arrogant. She found those four words to sum up what his character was, and now that she had thought about it, it was an unusual combination for a captain. Most captains were rather loud, and yelled the crew's orders, and showed signs of emotion with no shame.

However, she found this one different. He seemed to talk in a low, yet demanding voice with his crew, which made her wonder why they cheered for him, thus making her ask the question a while back. He seemed to only either show anger or amusement, and only talked when a situation was going on. Despite this, though, he seemed to like doing tasks a normal captain would have others do by himself. She supposed it was a good quality for a captain, knowing when to take things in charge yourself.

There were a few captains she had met like this, one being Crocodile, but there was something about him that made her uncomfortable, something that made her heart beat faster, something that caught her off guard. She made a list. Maybe it was the fact he was younger than her, but he acted like this? She sighed, sitting up a bit straighter, staring at the door. Unreasonable, since she had just recently found out how old he was.

Intelligence, she thought. Crocodile was rather clever as well. He was inexplicable, perhaps? She sighed again.

She couldn't put her finger on it.

She stayed in her room for that day, and didn't bother to go out and help them carry back the supplies she knew they had. She heard the footsteps and things dropping every once in a while, most followed by a curse, some by a simple sigh.

She didn't come out until a few hours later, when the bear had called for dinner. She had told him she would be there, as she had memorized that top level of the sub, but like the man with the hat had said, Captain's orders.

She got up from the bed she had found so warm in the colder layer of the sub, and walked to door a bit reluctantly, but hid any signs of it once she opened the door, and greeted the bear with a smile and a nod.

It had been a quiet walk to the mess hall, save for the bear continuously talking about the Heart Pirates' previous adventures, saying names as if she knew who he was talking about. Despite this, though, she listened politely, and giggled when he made a joke, and comforted him when he told her about the times they had scolded him.

She was sure the bear was at least a little upset when they had arrived, and he would have to say goodbye for now. She had giggled and patted the bear's shoulder when she noticed his ears bent down a bit as Law invited her to sit with him. Quite adorable, to say the least.

She had politely sat down and was served her food, which was rather delicious, compared to most other meals other pirates had served her.

A chef not too far away felt a sudden rush of anger through him, and felt the need to go and yell at a certain lazy swordsman.

* * *

She kept on blatantly asking him questions about his personal life. He would answer some, and just give her a look for other he chose not to answer. He told her to sit with him not because he wanted her to ask _him_ questions, he had actually planned on it being vice versa. However, he didn't say anything about it, despite it somewhat annoying him, because he considered it the least bit of progress that she wasn't talking coldly to him anymore.

He figured she wasn't going to be like his crew, who followed whatever he told them to do. He would have to provide a reason for everything, and if he didn't, she would either not do it, or not do it _right_.

It irked him, really.

Knowing there was someone aboard _his_ sub, who couldn't even guarantee loyalty to him. He knew it would be difficult to do this, seeing as she was, as much as he hated to even admit it to himself, still much stronger than himself at this point.

However, he knew this whole stubbornness was simply an act. An act so she wouldn't get too attached, so it would be a painless betrayal when the time came. This was only one way he was able to tell it was a lie, though. The other one was how she acted differently with different people. He noticed with most of his crew, especially Bepo, she acted joyous and giggly and polite and sweet and kind. However, when it came to him, she still acted a bit giggly, a bit polite, but she still acted serious, and, well, distant.

Distant as in a casual, meaningful, normal, level. She certainly didn't care how close she was when it came to digging into his personal life for advantages for herself later. It somewhat reminded him of himself, actually.

Was he always this irritating?

"Sencho-san." He heard her call to him, softly snapping her slim fingers in front of his face, "You're breaking the soup spoon." She softly giggled while saying this, but stopped when he looked at her.

"I'm aware of that." He frowned – he wasn't stupid enough to simply be oblivious to the pressure in his hand.

"_Fufu~_ Alright, then." She told him, turning away afterwards.

He looked to his first mate, "Are they back yet?"

Bepo shook his head, hearing his captain's voice, "Nope. Haven't seen them for a few hours."

He sighed, rubbing his temples, "Go gather a few men with you and head out to look for them."

"Aye, aye." He saluted a bit childishly before walking away.

He leaned back in his chair, trying not to squish his hat he had placed there before he had started eating. He had asked for one, simple, errand, from the two. One item, one item that was important, one item that pissed him off for making his crewmates take so incredibly long to get.

Damned gloves.

He was sure it would only take about ten minutes to finish the task, and yet here he stood, with two of his nakama's location unknown, and without the accessibility to do anything involving medical treatment.

He lay his head back on the arch of the chair, folding his hands above his torso as they were on the chair's arms.

"Something wrong, sencho-san?"

He gave out a silent sigh of annoyance, closing his eyes as he felt one of his eyebrows twitch, "Yes. Now go away."

"But I wasn't done talking." He could hear her 'friendly' teasing in her voice.

"Yes, but I was done listening. Now go away." He repeated, his tone becoming harsher. He didn't want to deal with the woman's light hearted opinion on everything.

"Those two you are looking for, they're at a bar I was at a bit earlier today."

He opened his striking golden eyes at this, and sat up to stare at her, "Why would you say that?"

"I see them."

"Your devil fruit?" he asked, his smirk back on his face. He was the least bit pleased with her use to the situation, and was even more pleased when she answered his question.

"Is there any other way?"

His smirk grew a bit, and he leaned forward, resting his chin on the palm of his hand, his elbow on the chair's arm.

He saw the slightest flicker in her eyes when he told her bluntly, "Interrogation, later, Ms. Nico."

He stood up and left without another word, his hat still on his chair.

* * *

Robin finished eating her dinner, going through what questions were obviously going to be asked, which odder questions were going to be asked, based on his character, and how she was going to answer them. The three main topics she found herself finding the most important about her were her devil fruit, Ohara, and so far, what she's learned about the Poneglyphs.

She supposed it would be safe to truthfully tell all three answers to him, as it seemed to be he already knew more than the average person about Ohara and the Ancient Language, and her fruit's power would be found out about, anyways.

She pondered over what unpredictable questions he would ask, and usually, when it came to other captains, she would be able to guess two or three they would ask. But, again, she found him an even harder code to crack than the Poneglyphs themselves.

Frowning, she decided she would just have to wing it, and would have to rely on her skills of acting to help her make any possible lies she would tell look to be true.

She picked up her plate and helped the chef, who actually preferred for every one to call him Chef. However, she was an exception, of course, and had the blessing of being able to call him by his actual name, Ivan. She guessed it was Russian.

He was around as young as Law himself, and seemed to be a bit quiet, until anything involving cooking whatsoever came into the conversation. He talked endlessly, skills he acquired, stories he had, and usually, she would find herself bored or annoyed at anything involving stories. However, he said everything with such an excited tone, it seemed innocently fun to listen to.

She could tell when he was grinning like an idiot, or when his hazel colored eyes were sparkling, or how excited he got when she was familiar with anything he talked about. It was a fun half hour for her.

"-so then," he continued with his storytelling tone, "I was about to cook the damned crab, but turns out it was still alive! It pinched me so hard, my thumb almost fell off!" he slammed the counter with one hand as he said this for emphasis.

She giggled at how he ironically said it happily, and replied, "A similar situation happened to me once. It was with a sea king, though."

He chuckled, and then said sheepishly, "Gee, your stories are always one notch higher than mine. Mind sharing some of your own?"

"_Fufu~_ There's not much interesting about me."

"What?" he raised his eyebrow as he frowned, "There's something weird about everyone. Anything. Even if it's not to me, it's probably the weirdest shit ever to someone else."

He continued scrubbing the dishes with his rolled back sleeves with her as he blew his dark brown hair out of his face, "Don't be so modest."

"Alright." She answered, "Have you ever heard of the Poneglyphs?"

"The Rio Poneglyphs?" he looked at her curiously. "The ancient artifacts that the World Government prohibited to be read?"

"Yes." She answered, ignoring the look he was giving her, "I can translate them."

"_Shit!_" he cursed, grabbing the cloth towel beside the sink, pressing it against his hand.

"What happened?" she asked, furrowing his eyebrows as she looked over his shoulder.

"Eh, well, I broke a plate, and cut myself." He sweatdropped to himself while he laughed sheepishly.

She frowned at this, a bit confused on how the plate could've possibly broken, and felt the slightest tug in her chest.

"…How? Did you expose it to both hot and cold water too fast?" she asked a bit harshly, looking at the grey, water filled sink in front of her.

"What? What're you…? Oh." His shoulders dropped as he looked at the woman before him, "No, no, it's not about the Poneglpyhs or anything!" he shook his head, frowning, "That's ludicrous, really!" he continued, "You're our nakama now, so I care about you just as much as the rest of them! Things like that don't mean anything."

"…No, no, it's fine." She shook her head after a moment, "It was a spur of the moment sort of thing, I suppose." She pursed her lips as she thought of what to say, "It's my fault for overreacting."

She frowned to herself as she said the words, now realizing she had had too much of a fun time with the chef for her own good. She would have to draw a line here, for now.

"Don't feel bad." She told him with her own, small, somewhat sheepish smile.

He went back to his quiet self afterwards, just nodding in return, thinking for a few moments before saying, "I can finish up. You can just sit at the table or something." His words were barely audible.

She wiped her hands before saying, "No, I think I'd rather go to my room. I'm feeling a bit tired." She turned around and looked at his back, knowing he wasn't moving, and was purely listening, before walking out, saying, "…Goodnight, Chef."

* * *

She frowned as she sat on her bad, twirling the Captain's hat she had found on one of the chairs on her way back. She didn't quite know if she was a bit harsh with the chef, who she, now called Chef like everybody else.

She felt bad for accusing him, but she was probably right, because he hadn't even denied the statement like someone who was really innocent did. He talked more about the general way to act towards a 'nakama,' not _her_, and from twenty years experience, she knew it was incredibly hard to find true nakama, for her, at least.

She pondered over whether keeping the white, fuzzy hat in her room to simply get a rise out of Law, but went against it once she remembered she had an interrogation scheduled with him.

She felt a bit lonely in the room, really, and simply hoped the young chef wasn't in the kitchen anymore when she slipped out of her room.

She nodded and politely smiled to other crewmembers as they walked by, recalling a few of their names. She looked past the window to the kitchen door as she walked through the dining room, and saw he wasn't at the sink, so it was safe to assume he had already left.

Her heart skipped a bit when the door swung open, but it slowly sank back down when she recognized the man as not the chef.

He seemed tired, and was biting on an apple a few times and almost walked right past her before he finally looked at her, his eyebrow raised.

She offered a polite smile to help the tone of the awkward situation, but it only resulted in a grunt, and a quick look at her up and down, before walking away, the sound of the crunching fruit echoing through the room, followed by his footsteps.

"Hello." She greeted cheerfully, catching up with the man as he continued to bluntly stare ahead, ignoring her presence as he chain-ate the apple. "I was wondering if you've seen La-"

"Captain." He said bluntly between a bite, starting to walk a bit faster. Rude, she noted.

"Captain." She nodded apologetically before continuing, "I was wondering if you've seen him?" She gave a sad smile to him.

He stopped walking and gave a sideways glance at her, his eyebrow raising again, which made her wonder if he had some sort of habit, before answering, "Look." Bite. "You're pretty and all, I guess," Bite. She decided he just _had_ to add that part in, "But I'm not a pervert." Bite. "So use your feminine charm on someone else."

He stared at her for a longer time than needed, his raised eyebrow even more unnecessary, as it seemed he was waiting for her to say something, still bluntly eating his apple as his onyx eyes bored into hers.

With a blink and one of her more mysterious smiles, she answered, "Alright, then. I'll rid of the feminine charm. Tell me where the location of your captain is, or would you like me to slit your neck, instead?" She said a bit harshly and stared at the man who blatantly told her off.

He seemed unfazed.

"Heck I know." He said quickly between another small bite, "Last time I saw him," Bite. "-he was on the deck." Bite. "Might wanna check there." Just like before, he stared at her with the same, blunt look, his eyes half lidded, his mouth covered with the small, frequent bites of fruit, his eyebrows unnecessarily raised.

"I'm gonna go now." Bite. "I need to get another apple."

He turned the opposite direction back to the kitchen, his boots making deep sounds as he walked.

She frowned, but nonetheless felt a bit amused at the man. "Anyways." She mumbled to herself before heading up to the deck.

Her hands immediately clutched the sides of her arms, the chill of the evening temperature of a desert bathing her as she took her first step out. He was no where on the deck, she noticed, so where was he? Perhaps he went into the sub and they had missed each other?

Impossible. There was only one hallway to take form the deck until you hit the bedrooms, and she had came from the kitchen, which was in that hallway.

She walked over to the side of the sub, rubbing her hands against her arms faster as a breeze flew over her. She had forgotten what it was like to be outside at night in a desert, she was most likely indoors helping Crocodile. Her nose turned a light shade of pink as she breathed heavily, her breath visible with the condensed air.

She saw him, she guessed, as it was only two dark silhouettes. Well, it was almost in no doubt him. Tall, wild hair, nodachi.

She walked down to them, both of them instantly noticing her right away.

"You really should be wearing a coat, Ms. Nico." Law advised, another smirk on his face.

"Seems I've forgotten." She said carelessly, still shivering a bit, "I've been looking for you." His expression didn't change, so she continued, "Interrogation. I want to do it now. I've been tired for quite a while, I want to head to bed. And I certainly don't want you to wake me up in the middle of the night."

"Captain." The other silhouette shivered, his vibrations at a much more extremity than Robin's, "E-Even though I'm glad about this wh-whole new crewmember th-thing, my ass is freezing off."

She had just noticed Law was the only one of the three who was wearing a coat, and thick one at that.

He sighed, "Alright, let's get inside." He nodded for her to lead the way, as he took the back.

"Where are we heading?" she asked as she head out onto the deck.

"Well, Mr. Keen and I still have business to attend to." He told her, leaving her to guess Keen was the young man shivering in between them. "You, Mrs. Nico, can wait either in the infirmary or just wait for me in your room. They're not too far from each other." He instructed as they landed on the third level.

"Alright, then." She nodded, an emotionless expression on her face as she walked away.

"I wasn't done yet," he said, and she could feel the ounce of confidence flowing through his veins, "Seems your hopes of sleeping early today won't come true. Afterwards, I'll be sending you and Keen to run another errand, as it seems he failed to do so with Mr. Valen." He gave a glance to the young man, he sheepishly chuckled in return.

"And, so I've heard, _Ms. All Sunday_," he smiled victoriously when she turned around to frown at him when he used her Baroque Works identity, "You've been here for quite a while, so surely you would know this city inside and out, am I wrong?"

"I refuse."

His smile dropped, "What do you mean, you _refuse_?" he spat out the words as he broke the thin thread that was inside him.

"Chances are, you're only sending me to use me as some sort of test on my behavior, when you could send any other member. Put this on my record: I'm intelligent, _Captain_."

She narrowed her eyes at him, "And I don't respect you calling me by that, not anymore."

She walked down the hallway.

"Captain." Keen's voice cut through his angered thoughts, "When you said, Mrs. Nico, are you talking about _the_ Nico Robin?"

* * *

She had stopped by her room, first, to get Law's hat that lay on her bed before heading to the infirmary that was a little ways to go.

Opening the door, she found it was fairly large, and had quite a few beds to tend to several patients at once. She assumed he was the head doctor of the ship as well as the Captain, as he invited her to go to the infirmary, which he wouldn't simply stay there if he wasn't the doctor.

She sat on the chair next to the desk filled with files, sighing as she tossed the hat onto the edge of one the beds. How, exactly, did he find out about Baroque Works? Even the own citizens of Alabasta hadn't found out about the assassination organization, and they had been in their own country for months. Perhaps word was finally spreading in town? She shook her head. That didn't matter right now.

What matter right now was that Law persisted on treating her as if she was some sort of toy. He decided to go there again, acting as if she hadn't been through the twenty years of tragedy she had been through, acting as if she had had some beautiful life, acting as if she was just some _rookie_ like _him_.

She stared at the wooden pattern on the table as she thought.

She sighed, maybe she was being too harsh? He was a rookie, like she had said, and he simply wanted to be a good captain, she supposed.

Her eyes followed the stacks and stacks of piles, though were neat, were still distracting to the eye. Manila colored files read the name of each crew member, and while she recognized most, she couldn't place a few. The slightest smile spread to her lips as she wondered which one belonged to the rude man with the chain eating, eyebrow raising problem.

She bit her lip in curiosity as she read the name of the captain himself. She used her Hana-Hana hand to reach for the folder.

"Trafalgar Law." She mumbled to herself, flipping through the folder. Why he had a folder of himself, she had no idea. But, she thought, it was right there, so why not take advantage of it?

Her crystalline blue eyes were stuck to the words on the page, and soon, she had found out it wasn't he who had wrote it, it was the government. The _World Government_. A stamp was on the back of the folder. She knew the World Government had a file for every person, but taking it from them was incredibly hard. Perhaps it sent to a smaller marine base for protection? She wondered where her own file was right now.

What incidents had been caused due to him, what his history was before he was even a pirate.

"Trafalgar 'Surgeon of Death' Law." She said to herself quietly, "Bounty as of the 21st of June," she said, noting that was a month ago, "92,00,000 beli. The North Blue, Island of Arzt." Arzt literally meant 'doctor' in German, she also noted, "Based on current visited islands, is taking the fourth possible route of the Grand Line. Was part of the DonQuixote Pirates. Little is known about his whereabouts with him." She frowned at this. Perhaps he wasn't a complete rookie after all.

She shrugged it off. If he had any major role in that Shichubukai's crew, his bounty would be much higher. He probably was one of the lower men.

It seemed odd. The pages seemed to stop. Born on October 6th, Island of Arzt, studied as a surgeon before leaving island around the age of nineteen. Son of the -. That's where the page had stopped, and there was no more afterwards, simply blank white ones. She flipped through them, hoping to see the words return, but they never did.

She had reached the end, seeing the other side of the manila folder. However, her eye caught the smaller paper that hid behind another. She pulled at it and flipped it over.

Her eyes stared at it for a few seconds, her brain not processing anything her eyes were seeing. She almost closed the folder right then, in slight fear he might catch her staring at the small sheet of paper, in guilt for going too much into his personal life, in disbelief and somewhat annoyance.

She blinked, closing the file and placing it back where it was originally.

Suicide prevention.

He had been…suicidal, at one point? It was truly hard for her to believe, really. Out of all the people she had met, she had never seen anyone enjoying life so much, watching people fall and mess up, a smirk constantly on his face.

He did seem somewhat…sadistic, to put it lightly.

It made her feel a bit down, knowing there may be a point when the man felt like this. She, herself, had, many, many, times. Perhaps it wasn't his. And if it was, it was most likely before he came a pirate.

If she recalled, he was still considered a teenager when he left, and she knew for a fact that teenagers had the most thoughts of such ideas, herself included.

She really doubted it, but she knew she knew nothing about his life at all, other than the general facts. She didn't know about his family or his life before piracy, really.

.It had been a while, and there was no sign of him.

She leaned back in the chair and closed her eyes. He wasn't suicidal. It was utterly ridiculous. Out of character, out of _nowhere_. Maybe it belonged to the marine that was holding the file before Law killed him. She frowned. But he surely would've looked through the whole file if it was about _him,_ right?

She sighed, rubbing her temples. He didn't seem as though he had some sort of incredibly rough life. But, teenagers _did_ seem to look at only the small, bad things, in life, and make it feel as though it was the worst thing in the world.

Besides the whole Ohara incident, there were many bad things that had happened to her. Small things. Tripping and scraping her knee. Dropping something. Anything, really. The embarrassing moments when she was young and still had trouble asking someone for something in a shop. Small things.

However, there were always things that would make up for it, moments when she scoffed at the idea of death. Moments when she could simply relax on a nice spring island. Moments when she would get lost into a book on a cold day. Moments when she felt the smallest bit of happiness, when she felt her mother was smiling next to her, when everything seemed perfect.

She wondered if he had any things like that, or if it was just her being a girl. She now rolled her eyes at the thought. Suicidal? Not.

He had much too pride in his head to ever go and show such a weak thing, emotion.

She shoved the thought away, deciding she was overthinking it. She looked at the clock on his infirmary. Fifteen minutes, and he wasn't done talking to the man named Keen yet.

…

Now then.

She wasn't being too harsh on him about the errand thing, was she? She pondered. She recalled herself saying he acted like she didn't have people who relied on her. She had said he didn't know what it was like to have people counting on you to accomplish something.

He wanted to find the One Piece.

She bit the inside of her cheek as she frowned to herself, slightly pitying him, now. He was a captain of a crew, a crew of people who had dreams as well. A crew of people who were rejected, who still believed. A crew of people that were like her.

She sighed, thinking she was getting too deep into thought for her own good. She glanced at the clock. One minute had passed.

The more she thought about it, the more she realized how many crews she had slaughtered, how many dreams she had crushed. She felt an unsettling aura around herself, an empty feeling in her gut.

All of the crews she had slaughtered…Was she going to do that to this crew, as well?

This crew certainly did have many pleasant people, and seemed a bit more happy than most crews, as if they really enjoyed each other presence, and didn't just take advantage of it with drugs and parties and occasionally, sex.

They had some sort of younger, naïve aura around them, that drew her to them despite the short while knowing them.

Law was a lucky captain.

However, it probably made it that much more harder on him, knowing such good people woke up on his ship, their personal loyalty and respect for him growing every day.

Her mind betrayed her with ditching the past subject.

Perhaps that was why he was...thinking of ending it all. Maybe he had some sort of insecurity? She rolled her eyes again, the image of his ever-smirking face invading her thoughts. Maybe he had too much pressure on him.

She considered it. He was, without a doubt, much, much more intelligent than a large portion of captains. So certainly, he would be able to read certain situations.

Her light feeling of annoyance swelled up inside her, again, remembering how he had been treating her like a _toy_. She had no reason to pity him, not anymore, because he had an incredible life compared to her own, and she had had fifteen more years of piracy than he, and here she stood.

If he, by any chance, was even the slightest bit _suicidal_¸ she would lose all means of respect to him, and decide she thought too high of him in the first place.

He had really made her actually _worry_, when there really was no need to. He felt like 'ending it all,' because of maybe a few incidents that could've cost him his life? She could bet her number was at least ten times more than any number of his.

He was a coward, a suicidal coward. The remembrance of the paper not actually belonging to him vaguely entered her mind, but was pushed away with the disgust of the man who captained this sub. He _really_ had no idea to feel that way.

She wasn't a coward, she wasn't pressured, she wasn't weak. The only thing that made her ever feel like ending her life was the fact that she was…

Alone.

Her shoulders slumped and she found her chest heaving. This may have truly been the girliest, hormonic idea she had ever thought of: Perhaps he was, though didn't seem like it, alone. Perhaps he started this journey so he wouldn't feel alone. He was, through the smirks and the gloating and the confidence, still human.

And it was human to feel alone, right?

She found it the softest, touchiest subject ever, and to place it towards a man, towards her current _captain_ made her feel slight distaste in her mouth.

He did want to please his crew, no matter how he acted towards them regularly. Because maybe, this was all he really had, she thought. She knew she had nothing but herself, but she forced herself to be happy with that. It was moments like this when she felt disgusted with herself, inhumane.

But he had a crew, he still had a life, not like her. Only few people insisted on being solemnly alone, and even so, it wasn't easy nor enjoyable.

All she had was personal moments of freedom. All she had was relaxation on spring islands, books on cold days, moments of peace and a settling feeling.

All he had was his crew, and what she heard many people consider it, a _family_. Nakama. And of his crew, of his _family_, was her.

A member of his crew who didn't even like him.


End file.
